I can still help Delaware travel nurses obtain a nationwide PPO. Here's how someone renting near the University of Delaware and accepting contracts along I-95 can keep health coverage active between assignments.
Hi, I'm Sam Jaber, a health insurance broker licensed across 36 states. I help Delaware travel nurses arrange their coverage over the phone, often while they're between nursing shifts.
Think of a nurse renting a townhouse near Main Street in Newark. Before traveling, she spent five years working telemetry at a Delaware hospital. Recently, her contracts have taken her to Washington and Baltimore, where she's close enough to drive back home on days off. She also has a Philadelphia assignment planned for spring. Her agency insurance typically begins after the contract has already started and stops when the assignment ends. That's already left her with two uninsured gaps. For months when she isn't working, she also keeps the possibility of marketplace coverage available.
Delaware residents all see the same marketplace offerings in 2026, and the selection is limited to 40 individual medical plans from three insurers. Each insurer provides a different network type: EPO, PPO or HMO. For an unsubsidized 40-year-old comparing the lowest silver premiums, the PPO is the most expensive choice, costing 6% above the HMO and 18% above the EPO.
I can also help nurses in Delaware apply for a private nationwide PPO. The insurer reviews your health to determine pricing. For someone traveling between assignments, the benefit is having one insurance card that works across Newark, Washington, Baltimore and Philadelphia.
Finishing an assignment and losing its agency health insurance can make you eligible for a Special Enrollment Period because you've lost employer-sponsored coverage. You have 60 days before that loss and another 60 days afterward, allowing you to arrange marketplace insurance ahead of your final shift.
For travel nurses, the provider network deserves particular attention. Outside emergencies, HMOs and EPOs generally limit benefits to participating providers. PPOs also cover out-of-network services, although you pay more of the cost. There's another change coming in 2027: Delaware's approved rate filings list just two insurance companies, and the insurer responsible for every EPO offered in 2026 is absent.
First, request written confirmation from your next agency of the exact day its insurance starts. If that leaves you uncovered, use your Special Enrollment Period to apply through HealthCare.gov and arrange for marketplace coverage to begin immediately after the previous agency plan ends. A Delaware-centered provider network could work well during weeks spent at home in Newark. But when you're heading to another city for work, make sure you understand how the plan covers treatment outside Delaware.
Next step: Tell me when one contract ends and the next begins, and I'll help you compare the lowest-cost ways to insure the time between them.
Taking contracts one after another may push annual income above four times the poverty level, leaving you responsible for the full marketplace premium. Delaware's unsubsidized rates already increased sharply for 2026. KFF reported a 29.4% increase in the average benchmark silver premium for a 40-year-old. That's a good reason to compare a private nationwide PPO. You'll complete medical underwriting questions, and the insurer can approve you, approve you with a specified condition excluded, or decline you. Nurses in good health often find private premiums below full marketplace pricing while keeping the same plan through multiple assignments. We'll review the benefits of each option before deciding.
Next step: Give me a call between your assignments, and I'll compare a nationwide PPO quote with Delaware's plans at full price.
Taking several months away from assignments could lower your annual income enough to receive a premium credit. When that happens, marketplace coverage is generally the most affordable choice for those months. With the EPO insurer absent for 2027, your comparison will be between HMO and PPO coverage. Staying mainly in Newark may make the HMO sufficient. If short assignments take you to other cities, though, the PPO's out-of-network benefits may justify paying its additional 6%.
Next step: Share your updated income projection and the doctors you see. Once the 2027 plans become available, I'll compare the HMO and PPO prices after applying your credit.
Straight answers, no sales pitch.
Yes. When agency insurance ends, you may qualify for a Special Enrollment Period beginning 60 days before you lose that coverage.
The insurer offering all EPO plans in 2026 doesn't appear among the Insurance Department's approved 2027 rates. That leaves the HMO and PPO insurers as your expected choices.
The increase was substantial. According to KFF, the benchmark premium for a 40-year-old rose 29.4% from 2025 to 2026.
Yes, absolutely. If you meet the health requirements, I can arrange a private nationwide PPO that stays with you across assignments.
Tell me when your present contract ends, when the next starts, the first day of agency coverage and approximately what you'll earn this year. I'll help cover the weeks between assignments and compare a nationwide PPO for ongoing protection.
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